Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-30
GOUERNOR FORIkER IND THE FARM


Democratic editors are making frantic
effort TO prejudice the farmers OF Obi,
against Governor Foraker. on the falls.
claim that in his messages. in the portion.
treating of taxation. he has been the mean.
Of increasing the tax burdens of the farm
lands of the state. What the governor
really intended to do. and did really do
WAS 20 lessen the taxes of the farmer. his
sole oJiect being TO equallZe valuations and
bring an the tax duplicate millions of per.
soual property that ought TO be taxed. He
was after the foreign corporations. and the
owners of stocks, bonds. etc. not now
taxed. and his purpose was, as he clearly
showS. to lessen the burdens of all presen;
taxpayers. especially the farmers. whose
lands. as he justly and truthfully says.
were last appraised in 1850. al time of
high valuations. and which in consequence
are now on the tax duplicate at from p per
cent. TO 80 per cent. higher that they could
be sold for. II was to be expected that
Governor Foraker would do this. for he is.
first, fair. square and honest man. and
second. he was born and brought up" or
raised on farm and therefore had an
intelligent conception Of the injustice that
was being done 10 the farmers. in the re-
spect that We have mentioned. Let us see
what the governor says, in one of his mes
sages. After recommending the taxation
of the liquor traffc. he then proceeds as fol-
lows: Foreign insurance. telegraph and
express companies. doing business in this
state, are now taxed upon their gross re-
ceipts. There is no reason why foreign
telephone. transportation car trust and car
equipment and sleeping and parlor ear com
panies should not be similarly taxed. II
the policy be right in the one class of cases
it should be equally 50 in the others, and
equity and justice to the state and TO the
other companies that are 50 taxed require
an amendment of the laws to that effect
All of this-the taxation of the liquor traf-
fic and the taxation of foreign cor
porations, largely relieves the burdens
lin taxatiOn) of the masses Of the
people The governor further calls atten-
tiOn to Official reports collected by the state
auditor, from which it Is shown that there
is no uniformity of valuation of real estate,
one county with another, throughout the
state, and that millions and millions of
personal property in the shape of bonds,
stocks and credits of one kind and another,
ere withheld from the assessors and thus
escape entirely all taxation. and that in
consequence the burdens of real estate and
q I'd other property that is taxed are I'M
in ,tly increased. He recommends that ap-
propriate legislation be enacted 10 cure all
these evils. and that. among other things, !
the real estate should be reyalued. not to
ASSESS il higher but to make it uniform and
10 prevent the injustice he has pointed out.
He speaks farther on this subject in his
ast annual message, as follows:
The last decennial appraisement Of real
estate was had at a period OF great pros
perity. Ii WAS a time OF general high
,aIues. Since then there has been heavy
iecline. Farm property is from twenty
i've to fifty per cent. cheaper today than it
vas then. The consequence is that farm
nx lands Of the state, where they have not